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The community band I play with did their first of the year outdoor concert last night. At the start we had a discussion in the low brasses and horns about playing louder than usual. I argued for keeping about the same ff and pp as we use inside. I got voted down.

So my question is…. What do all you other community band folks do about this? If anything.

When we got through the conductor for this concert (asst conductor, usually plays euph) tells us that clarinets and flutes were not heard out front. Trumpets came through ok, lower brass except tuba should have played louder. There was tuba all over the place, she says. Hmmmm…. We both use upright tubas.. and figure what we played went slightly backward from us, hit the 3 story brick wall behind us and echoed all around. It was a courtyard setting at a retirement home and folks were out on their balconies listening. We need not have pushed so hard. We’ll look at the site more carefully next time.

John

I once asked a friend and very fine musician who had spent 20 years playing with a professional quintet about this very subject.

His response was that initially the group attempted to compensate for playing out-of-doors, but that it did terrible things to their "indoor" sound. So they abandoned that approach and played the same way both indoor and out. Without electronic help, it's hard to sound good out-of-doors, particularly if there's no shell to redirect the sound.

Now, this was a chamber group, but I think he had a point. If your group does nothing but outdoor concerts, you may want to consider adopting bell-front tubas or sousaphones.

OldBandsman wrote:So my question is…. What do all you other community band folks do about this? It was a courtyard setting at a retirement home and folks were out on their balconies listening

We have a similar concert coming up, and the tubas that have done this before say the same thing: In this setting, normal is fine and, if anything may be more than enough.

We rehearse a 30 - 35 piece concert community band in what has been referred to more times than I care to think of... as a 'brick box'. The audio levels from 5 or 6 trumpets who participate in the 'louder and higher' club is unbearable at times. When we do outside gigs, it is always a problem for everyone to be heard... except for the trumpets. They usually always come through loud and clear. I always use a sousa or a bell-front horn for outdoor playing... unless we're amplified.

Our band played outside for a graduation in the school stadium. The wind was blowing hard, & although there were 100 of us, I fought to hear any section other than the enthusiastic horn player in front of me.

Before the mini-concert, our band director told everyone to "play all cues" & "play one dynamic above written."

Once we got out there, the order was "play every part as loud as possible; FF the entire song."

Trust me, obeying his mandate was no fun at all during "pomp & circumstance."

I too play in a community concert band and we play several outdoor events. The conductor lets us know when to " pump up the volume " and when to step it back down. It has to be done consisitently or your group will sound like crap.